Stress velopharyngeal insufficiency

Stress velopharyngeal insufficiency/incompetence (SVPI) is a particular form of velopharyngeal insufficiency/incompetence (VPI) in which there is an escape of air from the oral cavity to the nasal cavity while playing brass or woodwind instruments and was first described in the literature in 1970.

1. What causes Velopharyngeal insufficiency?
2. How do you fix Velopharyngeal insufficiency?
3. What are the symptoms of Velopharyngeal dysfunction?
4. What is stress VPI?

What causes Velopharyngeal insufficiency?

What causes velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI)? The most common cause of VPI is a cleft palate, a birth defect in which there is an opening in the roof of the mouth because the palate didn't form properly. Repair of the cleft palate may or may not also eliminate the VPI problem.

How do you fix Velopharyngeal insufficiency?

Surgery is commonly needed to improve VPI. The most common types of surgery for VPI are furlow palatoplasty, sphincter pharyngoplasty, pharyngeal flap, or a posterior pharyngeal wall injection augmentation. The size and shape of the velopharyngeal gap will dictate the type of surgery that is necessary.

What are the symptoms of Velopharyngeal dysfunction?

What are the Signs and Symptoms of VPD?

• Excessively nasal speech quality (also known as hypernasality)
• Leakage of air through the nose while speaking.
• Speech which sounds weak or muffled.
• Abnormal articulation.
• Leakage of food or liquid through the nose while eating.

What is stress VPI?

In wind musicians, this has been termed 'Stress VPI' due to physical stresses imposed upon the soft palate by high intraoral pressures associated with playing a wind instrument [1].